A French container ship and a Japanese-owned tanker have crossed the Strait of Hormuz, marking the first such transits since the war in Iran closed the waterway. This move appears to be a significant development in the region.

A French container ship and a Japanese-owned tanker have crossed the Strait of Hormuz, in what appear to be the first such transits since the war in Iran closed the crucial waterway. The CMA CGM Kribi container ship exited the strait on Friday, according to ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg and two people familiar with the situation. That is the first ship linked to western Europe that is known to have made it through since the war began more than a month ago. Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines...